Figuring Out the Stuff Between the Beginning and the End

After AFI – What’s Next?

If you’ve kept up with this blog since the beginning, you know that I’ve spent a lot of time watching and writing about each of the American Film Institute’s top 100 movies of all time. Thanks to a couple of breaks here and there, it definitely took me longer than I intended for it to take. But it’s over.

There are a lot of movies that I enjoyed and would fully agree that they’re some of the best movies ever made. But there are also a lot on that list that I would be okay with never seeing again.

In some cases, I mentioned that I would or wouldn’t necessarily include a film on my personal top 100. But that’s gotten me thinking… Do I have a personal top 100? It should come as no surprise that my number one is (and pretty much always has been) Back to the Future (take that, Citizen Kane). But what about the other 99?

To determine this list, I’ve decided to utilize Flickchart. I’ve mentioned it here a time or two. Flickchart is a website that gives you the choice between two films. You pick which one you like better. Over time, and after many pairings and choices, you would ideally come up with a list of all the movies you’ve seen, ranked from favorite to least.

It’s not perfect. What if I have The Matrix ranked somewhere above Raiders of the Lost Ark, but then one day I’m feeling particularly nostalgic for an Indiana Jones adventure. Does that mean that I think Raiders is better than The Matrix? Or did I just make that choice on a whim?

If anyone reading this has a better idea of how to rank movies, let me know. Flickchart is time consuming and, as I mentioned above, not 100% accurate. But I’ll compile my list. Next week, I’ll start counting down my top 100.